3DS Circle Pad Extension Preview

By Fred Dutton Published 15 September, 2011

Up close and personal with Nintendo's portable Frankenstein.

As far as rumours go, the first whispers that Nintendo was planning on somehow stapling an extra circle pad to the side of the 3DS was at the wackier end of the tittle-tattle spectrum, and you can be sure Eurogamer thought long and hard before reporting on it.

An alleged insider's claim that Nintendo was subjecting its fledgling hardware to a brutal bout of cosmetic surgery just six months after launch seemed like a case of Chinese whispers at best or, at worst, some audacious trolling from 01.net, the French site that broke the story.

But less than a month later, here we are, standing in the Tokyo Game Show's Makuhari Messe, clutching the unwieldy beast in our hands. Believe us, it's very, very real.

So, how does it feel? Well, rather nice actually. While making the thing easy on the eye has proven a feat beyond even Nintendo's usually infallible design team, they have at least made it a pleasure to hold.

What you couldn't see in the first promo shot of the peripheral is its ergonomically curved exterior. It's a pleasing fit in your hands and surprisingly light too. Perhaps it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that it feels a lot like Nintendo's new Wii U controller. And despite some of the unkinder nicknames it has already picked up, it's not actually that big. Nintendo's boosted handheld feels no wider than a PSP, if that. And even with the new add-on, it's still dwarfed by the PlayStation Vita.

For the most part, the button placement feels spot-on, too. The shoulder bumpers feel chunkier and more comfortable than those on the barebones 3DS, the thumb falls naturally on the second circle pad and, if anything, the extra girth afforded by the cradle actually makes the console's d-pad feel a little less out on a limb. The two supplementary shoulder buttons will also no doubt please the Monster Hunter faithful.

It's rather galling to learn it'll need a single AAA battery, but at least the battery compartment is hidden out of sight in the dock itself. There's no physical connector visible on the device, so we can only assume the battery is there to power infra-red - or even wireless? - communication with the 3DS base unit.

However, perhaps inevitably given the impossible scale of the task, it's not all good news. The left shoulder button is stuck in an uncomfortable groove between the edge of the peripheral and the 3DS' top screen, throwing the handheld off balance. The volume slider is hard to get at too, the wi-fi switch is blotted out altogether and the game and stylus slots are covered up, so no hot cart switching.

It's difficult to gauge just how odd it will feel having the face buttons to the left of the second circle pad rather than above it, as is now customary, until we've actually played a game with the peripheral. The unit we tried out was tethered to the waist of a chirping booth babe, with only the 3DS' menu screen available.

To be fair on Nintendo's put-upon engineers, it feels like they've done their very best to solve an essentially intractable problem. It's an extremely competent hatchet job, but a hatchet job nonetheless; an unappealing stop-gap while we wait for the inevitable hardware revision, which Nintendo surely hopes will put the whole sorry debacle behind it. Given the strength of its upcoming release slate, it may well get away with it, but this is a cock-up that should live long in the memory.

The Circle Pad Expansion is due out alongside Monster Hunter Tri G in Japan this December. Western launch dates are still to be announced.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (117) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Lucodeath #1 5 months ago

    Nice????

  • ricky_uk #2 5 months ago

    Fail dot com dot org dot lulz

  • kinky_mong #3 5 months ago

    and you can be sure Eurogamer thought long and hard before reporting on it.

    So Wesley Yin-Poole wasn't given the task of writing that news article then.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #4 5 months ago

    It is nasty looking, theres no getting away from it. A new edition out for Christmas will surely happen.

  • Timotei #5 5 months ago

    No, it wont. Too soon and too conflicting with the add-on.

  • rojjer #6 5 months ago

    eurgh

  • Noxia #7 5 months ago

    @5, no hardware revision were announced at TGS so I highly doubt it.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 12:38

  • Freek #8 5 months ago

    How will they get away with a relaunch so soon though? They only just dropped the price thereby convincing allot of new buyers and they had to apologise to early adopters.
    Now you are going to tell all those people their 3DS is obsolete? "Hey guys, go buy a new one or get this stupid add on!"

    Yeah, good luck with that.

  • mrpon #9 5 months ago

    Just to be clear, does the chirping booth babe come attached to it? Could be dealbreaker for me.

  • ChuckNorris #10 5 months ago

    I still have a hard time believing it.

  • Lemming81 #11 5 months ago

    "How will they get away with a relaunch so soon though?"

    I'm betting they won't be. It'll be like the wii motion plus. It'll sell as a peripheral and they'll make a new bundle that comes with it, but all the marketing behind it will be as if it's an extra. They make more money that way and they can save a hardware revision/relaunch for when it seems appropriate.


    having said that, does anyone want to fill me on what the issue was here? This is the first time I've heard about a problem with the 3ds initial design. Do games not work on it properly or something? o_O
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 12:48

  • jamieleng #12 5 months ago

    I thought cosmetic surgery was supposed to improve your looks?

  • abrakababra #13 5 months ago

    Lol-ocaust.....

  • Beano #14 5 months ago

    I'm still shocked that Nintendo has decided to release a hardware add-on like this so fast - and it even sounds like a half-baked solution. 3DS's biggest problems were the price (now solved) and lack of games (which is getting better soon) - not another control slider which only will confuse casual consumers and even scare potential customers away. Retarded.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 12:49

  • tachometer #15 5 months ago

    Reminds me of a Megadrive with a MegaCD2, not good memories!

  • Schmoke-n-a-pancake #16 5 months ago

    @ChuckNorris

    It is a simply staggering revision to a console that is barely six months old. Absolutely remarkable that Nintendo didn't foresee the need for this before releasing their machine. If, in fact, there is a need for it at all. I'm not convinced there is.

  • Stevehd #17 5 months ago

    Does it come with that girl in the second picture?

  • whoyouknow #18 5 months ago

    New model by March 2012.

  • espibara #19 5 months ago

    Yet again as I said when teh 3DS launched wait for the redesign.

  • king2001 #20 5 months ago

    @Stevehd

    But surely that's a doll holding it?

  • acmilan1899 #21 5 months ago

    a piece of shit gets attached to another piece of shit

  • menage #22 5 months ago

    Jeez. Looks a bit clueless imo. The girl is hot though.:D

  • Rack #23 5 months ago

    Aside from the looks and the form factor the battery requirements are going to be a real joke, as well as using a AAA for the unit itself this thing is going to kill the 3DS battery by running the IR constantly. The whole thing is a joke and with some look I can unload my launch 3DS onto someone else. It's unlikely that money will go to the inevitable hardware revision after this whole debacle, but the Vita is looking pretty good.

  • TonyHarrison #24 5 months ago

    They won't just announce a hardware revision on a random Tuesday, it'll be at a big event (or at one of their own conferences close to a big event as this was).

    The next such opportunity, outside of them announcing a random conference of their own, will be at GDC. Which is in March.

    So we've got six months of endless speculation to look forward to.

  • menschenfracht #25 5 months ago

    I thought cosmetic surgery was supposed to improve your looks?
    Maybe Nintendo was constantly spammed by messages like "GROW A 2ND CIRCLE PAD IN 5 DAYS, 2 CIRCLE PADS = DOUBLE THE SATISFACTION". Maybe eventually they've given in.

  • Acrid #26 5 months ago

    @Stevehd

    If it does I'm buying at least 2.

  • frunk #27 5 months ago

    Lady wearing a dog collar in the 2nd photo is a little disturbing... oh yeah the button thing... yeah, well.




    EDIT: too much ...er... staring... yeah.. staring... at booth babe pictures means you can't tell the difference between "2nd" and "3rd"
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 13:20

  • Eldritch #28 5 months ago

    3DS Lite 2012 then?

  • FutureDave #29 5 months ago

    Oh Nintendo....

  • Muddtallica #30 5 months ago

    As others have implied, this does still seem to me like a really half-baked solution to a problem nobody noticed until Nintendo forcibly dragged it into the open. The original DS didn't have any analogue controls at all, but still pulled off a number of 3D games with creative combinations of the D-pad and touch screen. Given that 3DS adds an analogue slider and gyro controls to the mix, it had more than enough control options to cope with a wide array of software, but nope, Nintendo's decided to whack this thing onto it, thus creating the (false, IMO) impression that a second analogue was a massive, essential missing component. Thus we now have a product that looks creatively compromised, will create massive confusion among consumers and developers alike, and one that looks like it will utterly marginalise the Touch Screen, which is the entire foundation of the DS family's success.

    So, yeah, not Nintendo's finest moment. Good job they've shown off a pretty impressive software line-up, because 3DS will need it if it's going to manage the journey up the mountain Nintendo has created out of a molehill here.

  • byakuya83 #31 5 months ago

    if this becomes an essential peripheral or they release games that won't work without it then that is a disaster. not releasing it at all would have been a better idea. to cause confusion for their casual audience so early on is really not fair.

  • frunk #32 5 months ago

    I predict the comment above by acmilan1899 will have an "edit" - staring at that booth babe meant s/he forgot how cut and paste work... its an easy mistake!


    --- or indeed it will totally disappear!
    Edited by 2 at 15/09/11 @ 16:41

  • Bursk #33 5 months ago

    Most people assume Asian wimmin are tiny, and I heard that Nintendo used this to their advantage by finding the biggest Asian chick they could and had her pose with the 3DS + addon so it doesn't look huge. The reality is that it IS huge, and what we're seeing in photo 2 is some sort of sexy Land of the Giants. In Asia.

  • DarthMartious #34 5 months ago

    Typical bloody Nintendo. Why build something into the device, when you can fleece your customers even more by releasing an add-on.

  • Acrid #35 5 months ago

    @frunk
    "Lady wearing a dog collar in the 2nd photo is a little disturbing... oh yeah the button thing... yeah, well. "

    You say disturbing I say arousing.

  • dunbain #36 5 months ago

    Edit: What the fuck people!? What could I have possibly said to be negged!?

    I'm surprised that no one's really brought up the view that Nintendo didn't do this because 'consumers' demanded it, but because of pressure from third-party developers. The issue is profitability to platform ratio, and 3rd parties were telling Nintendo they're not behind the platform because it's too expensive to develop an entire game for a small install base.

    SO!

    Nintendo went about dropping the price, and created this thing, knowing that the 'core' 3DS holders would purchase it anyway, despite any quibbles over its appearance. The price drop was motivated by compounding threats to the 3DS' long-term success, but one of the HUGE issues was realizing devs were upset with being unable to reuse cross-platform assets.

    Think about it: How many people were saying, "I'm not buying a 3DS because it doesn't have a second pad!"?
    No, people were upset over pricing and the lack of games.

    Gotta remember the dev times for these add-ons and such take a while. It didn't pop out of nowhere because they were feeling heat from the Vita, but needed to give devs wiggle-room to release ports. The Wii U is the same thing -- you don't come up with an 'ipad controller' because Apple did something the day before. Game and especially console development takes time.

    Nintendo is proving to DEVELOPERS that the 3DS is worth supporting because:

    1. This add-on enables ports
    2. The second pad become a permanent fixture for those who want it (core vs. casual models)
    3. Insane price-drop is evidence of Nintendo's seriousness with its console
    4. Also insane holiday line-up (esp. in Japan) also demonstrative of #3

    Personally, what will be the 2 model approach seems like a very sound strategy. Many casual (more so female) users could give 2 shits less about the second pad. They want a 'portable' gaming device that is stylish enough for public view. So this may ultimately play into Nintendo's hand, despite the initial fumble.

    I will say the company certainly needed a learning experience like this -- and a great thing for us that it happened so soon into the 3DS' lifespan.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 14:57

  • 1Dgaf #37 5 months ago

    Not sure this is a hatchet job; that's normally an attack.

  • Utopolitan #38 5 months ago

    Looking at the pictures of this, hands on the bible, tell me Nintendo knows what they're doing.

    Honestly, I hope Nintendo goes down the toilet. It seems to be the only remedy to this nonsense. They need to wake up and seriously start thinking things through.

  • WiseNail #39 5 months ago

    There can be no doubting the ugliness of the attachment, the poor timing of the announcement and the worry about the effect on battery life. However, if Nintendo pack it cheap (or preferably free) with an excellent First Person Shooter with decent online multiplayer, then they might just get away with it.

    Somehow I doubt it though...

  • Ceatlan #40 5 months ago

    I think this will just be a complete disaster for Nintendo, I had been planning to get a 3DS after the recent price drop, however after hearing initial rumours of this peripheral I held off buying one precisely because there is no way I'm buying a 3DS now until they produce a model that has the functionality built in. I do not want to buy a model now that won't play all games properly in the future, and I don't want my 'portable' gaming device hamstrung by some large and ridiculous looking peripheral.

    I'm sure I won't be the only person who thinks that, so I suspect that the boost in sales created by the price drop could be killed off by this peripheral announcement.

  • HyperTails #41 5 months ago

    Do Nintendo really think any casual gamer is going to play this abomination?

    3DS redesign announced right after Christmas, with a launch as soon as they can possibly achieve, I reckon.

  • Daikon #42 5 months ago

    They could at least have built an extra battery into the add-on...

  • kingcrowbar #43 5 months ago

    What's going on in picture 2. New screen protector made from aero-gel?

  • customfirmware #44 5 months ago

    She looks like a ladyboy.

  • menage #45 5 months ago

    And how would you know;P?

  • sonicyoda #46 5 months ago

    @acmilan1899

    You spam worse than the bots!

  • Dave52 #47 5 months ago

    It's a complete dog's breakfast. I have no more to say on the matter...

  • RoOhDaMite #48 5 months ago

    @ Lemming81

    "having said that, does anyone want to fill me on what the issue was here? This is the first time I've heard about a problem with the 3ds initial design. Do games not work on it properly or something? o_O"

    The controls of Kid Ikarus would sure benefit from a second stick. I bet the only reason they delayed its release date is because they want to release it along with the new 3DS model next spring.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 14:17

  • kassmageant #49 5 months ago

    everyone makes mistakes from time to time - MS had rrod, they survived, Sony had PSN outage, they're fine, and now ninny have that - they will survive, BUT me personally, i don't see any reason to but 3ds " right now", as inevitable hardware revision will surely include this second stick. i think that nintendo made mistake by announcing this so soon - this only made first version of 3ds even LESS attractive to buy in the event of future revision - i can wait for new hardware version, by that time library of games should be much more decent too.

  • linea #50 5 months ago

    The annoying thing for me is that I was considering getting a 3DS soonish but there's no effing way I'm going to get one until the hardware revision now.

  • SpaceMonkey77 #51 5 months ago

    As much as it may be comfortable, its really for japan. Still don't see this selling well in the west, when its going to arrive after PSVita hits the market, by which time, no one will care. Core people are going to avoid it like the plague, and casuals will wonder why they need it. It just makes 3DS look evermore cheap and nasty, besides that huge price cut.

    On top of that, there a funny suspicion about this device. If feel Nintendo needed a 3D designed game to help push it, why else would the have approached Capcom (who are seasoned in 3D graphic heavy games). Now with the nature of japanese business being very polite and hush hush, Capcom aren't saying much on the details, while Nintendo are doing the selling. Had Nintendo approached EA or Activision, it may have been hard to keep the details quiet, and their games would more than likely explode a 3DS, than run properly on it.

    And the least said about the new upcoming Ipad/iphone, the better (more fire on their fuel). Oh, how the vultures cry and circle above, Nintendo.

  • fizzyfish #52 5 months ago

    And despite some of the unkinder nicknames it has already picked up

    From the article with the tagline "Up close and personal with Nintendo's portable Frankenstein".

  • StooMonster #53 5 months ago

    The Circle Pad Expansion is a dire move for Nintendo, full of fail, and demonstrates that they got the design of 3DS wrong. It's a disaster.

    Developers will not support it, why limit your sales to a niche of your potential customers.

    Moreover, even if Nintendo revised the entire 3DS console hardware and added a right-side thumbstick that would similarly be unsupported because no matter how many 'new' 3DS they sell there would still be a significant portion of customers that would not be able to run games (see the Motion Plus and DSi for previous examples).

  • chubster2010 #54 5 months ago

    A balls up of the highest order.

    I fear Nintendo's short sightedness in not including a 2nd analogue stick in the first place is gonna bite them on the arse big time (if it hasn't already. Actually...it has... Nintendo's arse has been bit, and the dog is hanging off by its slavering jaws....)

    Even if this add on is a relative success, and they release an updated, 2-sticked 3ds, the 3DS audience will still be fragmented by the haves and have nots, making more work for developers (who'll have to support both set ups) as well as pissing off all 3DS gamers who have jumped in already.

    Nintendo really are caught between a rock and a hard place - do they launch a new 3DS, and essentially write off the original as a bad memory...? Or, do they just hope and pray that the take up of this fugly add on is as close to 100% as possible...?

    It's a real mess.
    Edited by 2 at 15/09/11 @ 14:30

  • Gearskin #55 5 months ago

    FFS, will people stop saying 3DS Lite!? The DS Lite was called such because it was smaller than the DS! If Nintendo revises the 3DS to include these buttons the new design will be BIGGER than the existing unit!

    The opposite of LITE!

  • darc #56 5 months ago

    This is motion plus all over again. There will be something like 2 games that ever make use of the additional buttons because it's negative return on investment to have to sell a game that plays better for the tiny subset of 3DS owners who also own this cradle. (What's it called again?)

    Also ridiculous that they covered the stylus slot. It was bad enough that they'd moved it from the side to the back - a surprisingly significant inconvenience. I'd have assumed if they were going to introduce a hunk of plastic like this they might at least have bored a hole in the side to put the stylus back where it belongs.

    Lastly, it'd take a while to get used to the screens being, effectively, left of center.

  • RawNinjaKid #57 5 months ago

    Just don't bother releasing it.
    I certainly won't buy one. I just hope most games don't need this or is optional.

    BTW: a revised 3DS gives Nintendo the options of improving not only the battery life and adding more control options. But also to further boost the specs. How far should they go?

  • SpaceMonkey77 #58 5 months ago



    @Kassmageant

    Thing is, while Nintendo might have winged it in the past, they've made so many mistakes over the years, that we question their sanity and their share holders are getting very nervous. When was the last time we ever heard about mysterious Nintendo share holders?

    MS and Sony mistakes were manageable, because they have established the bottom line of the consoles solidly early on, by embracing technology and pushing the envelope, etc. Nintendo on the other hand, have done that Sega Saturn mistake, by releasing underpowered hardware, based on cannibalising a previous gen (Sega Saturn was really heavily based on arcade 2D than 3D technology, by comparison), a huge mistake that Sega then corrected with the awesome Dreamcast. Thing is, that lost time, money and ground that Saturn was out on the market cost them, and they were able to match the rise of the Playstation, which could do both 2D and 3D games well. By the time PS2 came out, we should have had Dreamcast 2 instead of the debut Dreamcast console. By then it was too late.

  • Jorendo #59 5 months ago

    Nintendo deserves to die as company. They haven't been able to deliver for years anymore. All they done is distancing themselfs from their real fans to please none gamers and fat people with the wii. They hardly brought any gems to the wii only a handfull of games where worthy. Then they decided to screw the 3DS buyers by dropping the price big time only a few months after release. Saying sorry...yeah..sounds like that south park episode "we are sowwi, but you have a giant penis, we have a small penis" cause they screwing us over again just like in that south park episode..they say sorry and promise us 20 games...10 freaking nintendo games, not even the famouse super nintendo RPG's nope we get shipped off with some NES games and some GBA games. And only shortly after you got your first 10 nintendo games they anounce they gonna add another freaking tumbstick and you have to buy it otherwise you can't play the goddamn games on your 3DS anymore in the future and they dare to ask some freaking money for it!!!!

    They should have given us, the firs buyers, these tumbsticks for free with those games to compensate their epic failure. May nintendo die as game company. Can say about Microsoft and Sony what ever you want...but they only add stuff without you needing to buy the kinect or move to play your games, but Nintendo...nope they just leave stuff away and then add it later so you have to buy it if you want to continue playing. Some lawyer should sue the shit out of Nintendo and destroy these lame asses.

    Good thing is, Nintendo probally digged their grave with this. Many nintendo fans have been disapointed with Nintendo for a long time now, and this only decreased their faith. I mean whats next...the Wii U....we support HD...but we do not put it in the first devices...nor shall we add a power button...you can buy it later though, you have a big penis we only have small penis.

  • HyperTails #60 5 months ago

    Don't forget the old saying guys, 'you reap what you sow'. Nintendo's screw-ups with this abomination and their little relationship with the casuals that's made them got what they want from Nintendo and are now with Apple, means that Nintendo's now up shit creek. Make no mistake, SpaceMonkey77 is right, and Nintendo's chickens are now coming home to roost. I'll eat my hat if the Wii U does any better than the GameCube, and the 3DS is only a few short weeks from being destroyed by the Vita.

  • chrisjm #61 5 months ago

    a 'lite' version could just put it below the regular buttons in the space.

    was tempted to get the red 3ds that comes out soon, not after seeing this.

  • el_pollo_diablo #62 5 months ago

    Last time I early adopt your hardware Nintendo, you utter utter arseholes.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #63 5 months ago

    the redesign not only has to have a second analogue stick which is easily placed, but also 2 more shoulder buttons not so easily put on the current model, im hopeing the next redesign is alot more ergonomic like the vita looks, its nice being compact and all, but its not that comfortable to play on what effectively is a nes pad.

  • dazzer05 #64 5 months ago

    Yuck.

  • CloisterBlack #65 5 months ago

    What's up with the DS's screens in the second photo?

  • Diomedes #66 5 months ago

    Who will buy a 3DS until the hardware revision??? It would take being totally stupid to do so....

  • chrisjm #67 5 months ago

    should have an ugly person holding it to make it look better.

  • FenderMaster #68 5 months ago

    well Nintendo clearly need to keep selling 3DS consoles, but the more people who buy one bbefore the hardware revision, the more people there'll be feeling tricked into buying an "obsolete" piece of hardware.

    It's a tough situation, theres no way to get out of this without pissing people off. I was very tempted to pick one up after the price drop but now i'm glad i didn't. What will happen? Will third parties make games requiring dual analog, cutting off a large portion of the initial userbase who won't upgrade? Or will they go the Wii route and ignore the upgrade because not enough of your market actaully owns one. At what point will original 3DS owners be forced to upgrade?

    A functional but hatchet job solution is dead on.

  • bladdard #69 5 months ago

    It adds much needed girth to the 3DS which is the effect pic 2 had on me. ;)

  • monkfishjoe #70 5 months ago

    Yippee - it makes it look a bit like the original DS.

    Joking aside I'm actually looking forward to this. Having massive hands, as I do, it'll be nice to have something a little larger and less angular to hold onto. I find long sessions of OOT a little uncomfortable at the moment.

    Also, I believe Ninty were planning on installing a second circle pad in the first 3DS, but it got dropped so the 3DS could beat the Vita to market (apparently).

  • jonbwfc #71 5 months ago

    What's up with the DS's screens in the second photo?
    There's a 3DS in the second photo?

  • HyperTails #72 5 months ago

    @monkfishjoe

    Its painfully obvious that Nintendo rushed the 3DS to market. No eshop at launch, hardware problems (like top screen scratches that testing SHOULD have picked up), no games (a problem still not solved)...

    I doubt they didn't add a second circle pad in their haste... I just think that was Nintendo arrogantly thinking that they didn't need one.

  • FenderMaster #73 5 months ago

    I doubt they didn't add a second circle pad in their haste... I just think that was Nintendo arrogantly thinking that they didn't need one.

    This

    After the huge success of the DS, and the great reception the 3DS got at E3, they surely assumed that Third parties would just work with the hardwares eccentricities, rather than trying to cater for them, giving them the controls they need to make their games comfortable.

    If the 3DS took off like they thought it would then this never would have seen the light and day, but The 3DS didn't sell that well, and third parties pushed for the second analog their games needed, and in light of this, we get this monstrosity, a probable hardware revision, and alot of early adopters with their nose put out of place.

    Couldn't have made a bigger balls of this if they tried, which seemingly they have.

    But again, if the 3DS had sold like they thought it would, the userbase would be too big for third parties to ignore, they would have just made the best of the poorly designed hardware and got on with it.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 17:26

  • riz23 #74 5 months ago

    I think my 3DS is the last Nintendo hardware (and by extension software) I ever buy. They need to give me one of those things for free, which I don't actually want, or trade my launch day console for the inevitable hardware revision when it comes.

    If this peripheral remains a curious and seldom used oddity then fine, but if it becomes the norm then this is the final straw. Sorry Ninty, we have had some good times but you know what, you're annoying and a little bit stupid at times. GTFO.

    EDIT: I should add that I actually like my 3DS as it is now and it looks like the games are coming too. This really seems like a revision that the customer don't want or need. This will make the touchscreen redundant. It is simply sucking up to developers who want an easy porting solution. Trouble is the entire strategy is a clusterfuck and will backfire. Sad.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 21:21

  • Paulie_P #75 5 months ago

    I have a 3DS and I won't be getting one, I'll be waiting on the hardware revision and upgrading (possibly). The thing is, knowing this, I'm not going to purchase any more games on the virtual console for the 3DS as any purchase are tied to my current 3DS.

    This has been an epic disaster for Nintendo (I still love their games though).

  • apoc_reg #76 5 months ago

    I can't beleive you havent mentioned the fact its off centre!! So dumb

  • benfresh76 #77 5 months ago

    I don't understand, given that, if reports are to be believed, this device uses an infrared/wireless connection, why they didn't design it so the second analogue effectively 'clips' onto the side of the 3DS just below the XYBA buttons, next to the power button. I'm sure there must be a reason for this choice, perhaps the gubbins that registers input under the stick is too chunky, but the layout of this thing defies any ergonomic logic IMO, and the asymmetry is just aesthetically offensive.

    I wonder what trade-in deal early adopters will get when they do the decent thing and put the 1st gen 3DS out of it's misery?

  • cawley1 #78 5 months ago

    Yep, this is a massive cock-up, I am amazed a company with the savvy of Nintendo has released this, surely if they really needed a second circle pad, they could have just waited until the hardware revision, anyway!

    Will put potential 3DS buyers off, and as I stated elsewhere, as I hate twin-sticks anyway, I won't be buying the add on (but will probably trade mine in for the inevitable revision)

    This is like the original GBA having no front or backlight, but at least they gave the original hardware 18-24 months before revising!
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 18:52

  • RawNinjaKid #79 5 months ago

    They could have at least supported the 3DS for at least a couple of years before introducing a newer model, giving the excuse that the "market had changed" and that developers now require a second stick. All the while keep their mistake as a "confidential" internal company memo!
    But they have taken the clumsy add-on route; and people don't like to invest in companies that have a "clumsy" reputation!

    Probably scared that the Vita will take a HUGE slice out of the 3rd party handheld market and ramifications from that. But if the handheld market is so lucrative they could have come back stronger in a couple of years time.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 18:53

  • FenderMaster #80 5 months ago

    Although it didn't affect gameplay or controls, we must remember, the first generation GBA had no backlight and the first generation DS was fugly with darker screens.

    Crappy first generation portable hardware is not without precedent, which is why even those not expecting drastic controls overhauals said before launch they would wait for the wuperior revision. But nobody could have imagined that revision would include extra buttons and an analog...

  • SeesThroughAll #81 5 months ago

    Wow, so they actually accessorized the second analog. How Nintendo. :D

  • TonyHarrison #82 5 months ago

    One thing I'll never understand is the stick Nintendo get for releasing hardware revisions, especially when people use the DS as the example for their argument, despite the fact that the PSP has had/will have 5 revisions to the 4 of the DS.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #83 5 months ago

    That's not what a "hatchet job" means. Tsk.

  • FenderMaster #84 5 months ago

    ^^

    None of the PSP revisiosn have drastically changed it's appearance, functionality or controls except the PSPGo, but that came later and everyone who bought one already knew what they were getting into.

    It's a very different situation to Nintendo's revisions which add new controls, buttons, sticks, much brighter or bigger screens, or access to DSiware.

  • handsonhips101 #85 5 months ago

    Mega CD of the portable gaming world

  • gizmo #86 5 months ago

    April 1st, surely?

    That is simply unbelievable - Frankensteins Knob must surely be one of the unkind nicknames?

  • sourc0r #87 5 months ago

    that is a sacrifice i wouldn't be willing to make

  • makeamazing #88 5 months ago

    For me i really think Nintendo have lost the plot recently, and i really think this is over the next generation their drop back down to third place.

    That add on is just going to cause even more confusion to the user base.... i really dont know what they are doing.. i sense that the wii-u will be a big failure also.

  • TheTrueSpin #89 5 months ago

    Checks date... not April.
    Pinches self... not dreaming.
    Checks pulse... still alive.

    Faints.

  • TheTrueSpin #90 5 months ago

    Haha... I know the term "epic fail" gets thrown around a lot on the internets, but please... let me have this one:

    EPIC FAIL!

  • HyperTails #91 5 months ago

    @Handsonhips101

    More like Mega Drive 32X, the Mega CD was a roaring success compared to Sega's 32bit mushroom.

  • smelly #92 5 months ago

    I *REALLY* wanted to buy a 3ds at xmas this year.. But with this add-on, i've decided to wait on a new hardware iteration with it included (and hopefully better battery life).

    By which point, i'll probably have gone off the idea... Ah well.

  • mkreku #93 5 months ago

    Knowing Nintendo, they will not just release this hideously ugly thing to fix an error in their own judgement, they will try to make a profit off of it.

  • WJF #94 5 months ago

    Isn't the real cock-up is that the 3DS is only a little bit more powerful than the DS, has a library consisting purely of old games remastered (which cost Ł30 a pop new), and is crap at syncing accounts with DSi/DSi XL?

    A second stick that unbalances its design is really the least of its worries.

    EDIT: I should add that I bought my 3DS at midnight on the launch day, having spent 4 years with a DS Lite and loads of brilliant games, so you can probably see where the bitterness comes from.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/11 @ 21:31

  • Kostas #95 5 months ago

    Cancelled my own 3DS :( Still bought one for my nephew. Will be waiting for the inevitable 3DS lite that comes outfited with everything i need including (hopefully) a better battery. My Zelda 3DS is iching me badly though (yeah i got the game before the machine).

  • BabyWuigi #96 5 months ago

    I love my 3DS. I t is an absolutely amazing piece of technology and i for one have no qualms about purchasing this when it is released. I just hope Luigi's Mansion and Kid Icarus are compatible with it.

  • rockavitch #97 5 months ago

    I have not held it so can't say if it is comfortable or not but for me personally it still seems like a solution to a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place. Regardless it's good to see they have tried to fix the mistake (too many companies wouldn't even bother) but it still seems like something that could've been included in the original device with a month or two delay and I'm sorry for the early adaptors as even a few free games won't remove the sour taste that unless you buy this you won't actually have a full 3DS... although it did work for Sony after the hack so what do I know.

  • bemaniac #98 5 months ago

    oh god I'm selling my 3ds

  • Collymilad #99 5 months ago

    Hawt.

    Also, lol @ Nintendo. (Yes, I know they have a shitload of money before anyone states the obvious)

  • Moz #100 5 months ago

    @Lemming81

    I'd imagine it all revolves around devs wanting to do multiplatform games for 3DS and PSV. It wouldn't surprise me if devs have gone to Nintendo say "we'd love to bring this game to 3DS as well as Vita but we make it work properly because of the lack of dual sticks"

    The Wii U controller could also be part of it with in house devs trying to use 3DS in tandem with Wii U and realising they had to change the control scheme.

    All speculation of course but can't think of any other reasons why they'd bother with this.

  • up_the_ante #101 5 months ago

    Who remembers the light and magnifier for the original gameboy? The Handy Boy or whatever it was called? That's what this reminds me of

  • KrazyFace #102 5 months ago

    Watchout! Re-design incomming!

  • KingOfTheC #103 5 months ago

    I'm annoyed a bit by it, because they should have seen this coming.

    I'm not entirely surprised though - Nintendo have been doing this for years - Rumble Pak, Motion Plus etc.

    I doesn't bother me too much as I play my 3DS either in bed at home, or in hotel rooms when I work away, it's a portable for me insofar as it fits in my bag to carry to said places - so I can't see this making a massive difference for me.

    For those who play this on the train or bus on their way to work, however, I think they will be the most annoyed, as it turns your relatively sleek looking gadget into this monstrosity, and makes you look even more of a dick playing "kids' games" on the train.

  • iamtheoneneo #104 5 months ago

    what a mess the 3ds has become .... Nintendo so out of touch with everything. It cant be long before they ditch hardware forever

  • HyperTails #105 5 months ago

    @Moz

    "All speculation of course but can't think of any other reasons why they'd bother with this."

    Wouldn't suprise me if they think the hardcore will lap this thing up if there's a secons circle pad. This is a company that thinks the core ignored Wii because its not in HD, after all.

  • Chris_Smack #106 5 months ago

    "While making the thing easy on the eye has proven a feat beyond even Nintendo's usually infallible design team, they have at least made it a pleasure to hold."

    Usually infallible? The original DS, Gameboy, NES, SNES, N64, Virtual Boy and arguably the Gamecube and 3DS itself are utilitarian bricks of plastic. That the first DS design ever got past the R&D stage to full release is amazing. The two parts aren't even the same size!

  • jellyhead #107 5 months ago

    I was hoping it'd be a 3DS XL, that's what i'm waiting for.

  • up_the_ante #108 5 months ago

    @Chris_Smack
    It's true the original DS was an absolute shocker - looked like it had been made by some company like Madcatz with off the shelf parts. But to say the SNES and N64 were horrible is pushing it. I thought they were both aesthetically pleasing for their time.

  • Ryze #109 5 months ago

    Oh dear, What a mess!

    http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe7uKhHj-...

  • napalm68 #110 5 months ago

    I know Nintendo have their fans, and I hate to thread dump, but it is hard to just sit quiet with all the low end stuff these clowns put out year after year after year, and the hardware "patches". I can't understand why anyone supports them.

  • Morituri #111 5 months ago

    Lol djclownshoes, exactly ! However I think once is available in the shops, Nintendo should oly sell the 3DS bundled with the circle Adapter. That is if they want the adapter to have a chance to be supported. It does seem Nintendo is producing a Jack of all trades with this, trying to please everybody. They are obvious admirers of the PS Vita but I think Nintendo have to continue making best use of the Dual Screen, the 3D effect personally does not fully convince me, I know my kids keep it turned off at all times, as always Games is what will sell the hardware. Last thing, enough 64 remakes, let's see original titles and gameplay.

  • Morituri #112 5 months ago

    Lol djclownshoes, exactly ! However I think once is available in the shops, Nintendo should oly sell the 3DS bundled with the circle Adapter. That is if they want the adapter to have a chance to be supported. It does seem Nintendo is producing a Jack of all trades with this, trying to please everybody. They are obvious admirers of the PS Vita but I think Nintendo have to continue making best use of the Dual Screen, the 3D effect personally does not fully convince me, I know my kids keep it turned off at all times, as always Games is what will sell the hardware. Last thing, enough 64 remakes, let's see original titles and gameplay.

  • knocker #113 5 months ago

    I really couln't care less about looking like a dick on the train (after all some people openly read the daily mail) I do care the battery life won't last a round trip.

    I don't mind hardware additions, it extends life to the hardware, adds new features .... But so soon ?

    I've bought every nintendo console since the nes pretty soon after release (excl VB) but the 3ds felt half finished, this add-on confirms that feeling

  • cybertenchi #114 5 months ago

    Not one. NOT ONE of you pointed out that "Frankenstein" was the name of the Creator, NOT the Monster. For shame... ;)

  • bionutz #115 5 months ago

    that girl presenting the add-on was sooo yummy, at the beginning i didn't even notice the hardware. I didn't know exactly what the device was till I read this article - i thought just it had to do something with Monster Hunter since it was at their booth.
    i've touched the device, it's nice - yepp I've been at the tokyo "amusement machines" show 2011 too. my objection is that since the 3ds is a piece of a hardware that most people in Tokyo are playing on the tube, one has more chances to lose the add-on, it's very crowded here. and i'm never travelling at rush hour. so yeah I'll be waiting for the new hardware iteration i think.
    there are many new games coming on the 3ds here in Japan if they come to Europe, it won't look so bad for Nintendo anymore. Another thing: there are quite some games from prestigious game companies that are coming to iOS and Android. Competition will be fierce for Nintendo, I mean even worse than now. Though I was a big Gameboy, nds fan, I would skip 3ds completely if I would get for instance 3d stereo view on the iphone or ipad.

  • jonsaan #116 5 months ago

    The lack of a second stick is really nothing to do with slow sales though. Seems like a total wild shot in the dark to me. Incredibly odd as the console itself is ruddy marvellous, it just needs more ninty games. Something they could easily solve by beefing up the store with a full archive of there old games.

  • Skywalker2345 #117 4 months ago

    It's pretty doubtful that this "cock-up" will live very long in the memory. Pretty sure nobody remembers how much UMD sucked even though...it still does. Pretty sure nobody remembers that Nintendo's console before the wii was a freakin cube. Even the original DS resembled a minature boat more than the sleek cool hip 9 figure selling jugernaut it is today.